Beginning June 3rd On Earth Peace is partnering with Just Peace Outfitters (JPOutfitters) to host a fun and enriching #StickerScavengerHunt! 

Between now and June 30th On Earth Peace’s blogs and social media will be posting and hiding images and hints towards finding 10 exciting & beautiful JPOutfitters peace & justice stickers!

After you find a sticker you can “stamp” your sticker collection ”book” by:

1. Sharing the link to that sticker location in your social media
2. Sending a screenshot or link for your shared post to [email protected]

The first 10 sticker scavengers to collect all 10 stickers will win their choice of a free peace & justice sticker from the JPOutfitters Store

Join the World Refugee Day virtual march on June 20th to show solidarity with migrants and refugees. Post a photo of yourself on social media holding up signs with supportive statements and related hashtags like #WithRefugees #SupportRefugees #RefugeesWelcome #WRD2020. Please email your photos to [email protected] in order to create a big photo collage of all the participants by June 19th. Feel free to check out related content on the OEP-Migrant Justice Facebook page throughout the month.

With so many in the streets after the killings of #GeorgeFloyd, #BreonnaTaylor, and so many others, we are mindful of people of many generations and racial/cultural backgrounds who are taking risks, providing support, or being invited into solidarity with the struggle for Black lives. As people seeking to follow Jesus and to follow a nonviolent path, we encourage congregations to stay strong in the long haul work of dismantling racism and building Beloved Community. Join us in the OEP-RacialJustice Learning Action Community for ideas about how to respond. You can learn more about the Movement for Black Lives on their website.

The Read Aloud Project was created by Priscilla Weddle and Marie Benner-Rhoades to provide homeschooling resources in peace and justice during the pandemic. For the project, members of the community record themselves reading children’s books about peace, courage and justice. The response from the community has been great and we appreciate those who have participated. If you are interested in recording a video for the project, please email Priscilla at [email protected]. Here are the books that were read for the project in May:

MAY BOOKS

The Sandwich Swap by Kelly DiPucchio and Queen Rania of Jordan

Summary: The Sandwich Swap tells the story of best friends Lily and Salma. Lily likes peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, while Salma prefers to eat hummus on pita. The girls get into an argument because they think each other’s lunch is weird. Before they know it, a food fight breaks out at school. In the end, the girls try the different sandwiches and enjoy it.
Reflective Question: Have you ever swapped a sandwich with a friend? What is your favorite sandwich?

Written by Marie Benner-Rhoades, Youth and Young Adult Peace Formation Director (Originally written in 2018, updated for this blog.)

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking recently about raising my white children in a predominately white place. I want them to understand race and their role in social justice efforts, and it already feels too late. My children are six and two years old. What we know about implicit bias includes that children as young as six months already make judgments based on race. We have to be intentional in our efforts to be anti-racist.

Reading to my kids is a favorite activity in my family. We all take part- kids, parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles- in person and online. Bookshelves are full in my house, but are they full of the right books? I decided recently to do a children’s book audit after viewing an EmbraceRace webinar, “Reading Picture Books with Children through a Race-Conscious Lens,” where the idea was introduced to me.